Marietta has been added to the Ohio Historical Underground Railroad Trail as of last month.

Gov. Mike DeWine, the Ohio Department of Development and TourismOhio announced Sept. 19 that additional stops have been added to the Ohio Historical Underground Railroad Trail – including a self-guided tour of Marietta, the multicultural genealogical center in Chesterhill and the Underground Railroad Museum in Flushing – in honor of September being International Underground Railroad month.

The total number of stops on the trail has been expanded from 25 to 40 with these recent additions. The staff of the Marietta-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau and The Castle Museum Executive Director and CVB Board Member Scott Britton worked on getting the tour on the trail, according to CVB Executive Director Deana Clark.

Britton used “the research of Henry Burke … to come up with the highlighted locations for our (tour) and the information that goes with each stop,” she said.

The stops on the self-guided tour of Marietta include the Northwest Ordinance, 1787/The Ohio Company Purchase historical marker, the Muskingum River Underground Railroad/Marietta Leaders of the Underground Railroad historical marker, the Charlotte Scott Marker, the Fight for Freedom/Marietta College Activism historical marker, the Civil War Memorial in Marietta, the Putnam House historical marker, the David Putnam Jr. historical marker, Harmar Cemetery, the Constitution historical marker, Farmer’s Castle Museum and Education Center, the Ephraim Cutler historical marker, and the Cutler Ohio historical marker, according to the CVB website

“The path of the Underground Railroad through Ohio was pivotal in leading many enslaved African Americans toward freedom, and we must ensure that this history continues to be passed down to future generations,” DeWine said in the release. “By nearly doubling the number of must-see historic sites along Ohio’s Underground Railroad Trail, we hope more residents and visitors will explore the parts of the state where this history was made.”

Being added to the trail helps boost tourism in Marietta, Clark said, and it points to Marietta “as a key historic destination.”

Clark was excited when she heard that Marietta had been added to the trail, she said, and “it’s always good to get statewide recognition.”

She said that many of the stops on the Marietta tour are ones people haven’t heard of.

“This is news to them … there’s so much history here that people don’t know about as it pertains to the Underground Railroad,” Clark said. “We’re happy to get those stories out.”

Information about the self-guided tour can be found on at www.mariettaohio.org and additional information about the Ohio and the Underground Railroad can be found Ohio.org/UGRRTrail.